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Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation prohibited the colonists from settling west of the Appalachians, due to fear of the Native American attacks. -
Sugar Act
The first law issued by the crown to raise revenue from the colonies. It increased duties on sugar from the West Indies. -
Stamp Act
A tax on paper products that required legal documents to be printed on special paper, issued to raise revenue for the new British military force. -
Quartering Act
A law that required the colonies to provide food and board to British troops. This kept resentment burning among the colonists. -
Stamp Act Congress of 1765
27 delegates from 9 colonies met and drew up a statement of rights and grievances. They asked the King to repeal taxes on paper, but they were ignored; however, this was a step towards intercolonial unity. -
Declaratory Act
After the Stamp Act was repealed, the Declaratory Act was instituted. It reaffirmed Britain’s absolute sovereignty over the colonies. -
Townshend Acts
A series of taxes on glass, white lead, paper, paint, and tea. They failed to generate revenue and were eventually repealed, except for the tea tax. -
Boston Massacre
A group of townspeople in Boston provoked the British redcoats and shots were fired. Five colonists died and two redcoats were found guilty. -
Boston Tea Party
100 Bostonians, loosely disguised as Indians, boarded ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor to protest the tax on tea. -
Intolerable Acts
A series of laws that limited the rights of colonists. It included: the Boston port was closed, restrictions were placed on rights traditionally practiced in Massachusetts, officials who killed colonists could be tried in Britain, and a new Quartering Act gave local authorities power to lodge soldiers anywhere. -
First Continental Congress
A meeting of 55 well-respected men from 12 colonies (Georgia was not present) in Philadelphia to redress grievances. Intercolonial frictions melted away during the time that this congress was held. -
Lexington and Concord
The first battles of the Revolutionary War. A British commander sent troops to collect stores of gunpowder from the colonists and arrest ringleaders to prevent further disturbances. Colonial minutemen refused British orders and shots were fired. When the redcoats pushed onward to Concord, they were met with heavy resistance. -
Second Continental Congress
All 13 colonies met and selected George Washington as the head of the colonial army. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
A battle fought near Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts. The majority of the battle was actually fought on what would be known to be Breed’s Hill. The colonists attacked the British head-on, later running away when ammunition depleted. -
Olive Branch Petition
A call for peace from the colonists. They professed their loyalty to King George III in an attempt to prevent further hostilities. The King refused peace and hired Germans to help crush the colonists. -
Common Sense
A pamphlet authored by the radical Thomas Paine. He convinced Americans that their true cause was independence, rather than reconciliation with Britain, and encouraged them to fight. -
Declaration of Independence
A formal statement of separation to the King of England, written by Thomas Jefferson. It inspired other revolutionary movement, such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man in France. -
Battle of Trenton
George Washington and his troops crossed the ice-clogged Delaware river and captured 1,000 Hessians. -
Battle of Saratoga
General John Burgoyne, unable to advance or retreat, was forced to surrender to the Americans. This victory immensely revived faltering colonial cause and made possible foreign aid from France as they now knew the colonists had potential to defeat the British. -
Valley Forge
A major turning point in the American Revolutionary War. George Washington’s Continental Army spent an arduous winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. While conditions were harsh, George Washington proved his worth and the Continental Army was trained into a fighting force by Friedrich Baron von Steuben. -
Yorktown
General Cornwallis fell back to Chesapeake Bay in Yorktown, awaiting shipments of supplies from the British. What he didn’t know was that British naval superiority had faltered, and the French and Americans trapped him, forcing him to surrender his entire force of men. -
Treaty of Paris (1783)
Britain formally recognized America’s independence, ending the American Revolutionary War.
